I'm having a bit of a hard time with the writing style, but I'm sort of doing okay with it. It's not bad, though, but it's a little odd for a murder mystery as the murder doesn't happen for like 100+ pages.

Read my first Lee Child's novel in the Reacher series, Tripwire. A fairly engaging read with some interesting characters, including the unassailable Jack Reacher. Probably a bit too padded if I was going to be picky but it's nice to have a non-genre read and then look forward to coming back (starting Tony Daniels' Metaplanetary next)!

ive read a few Lee Child, they mostly follow the same format but boy are they entertaining. if you like those i recommend Clive Cussler as well, just pure no brain entertainment and adventure.

"Fifty Shades of Grey" The Book

I have read books before that I just could not put down. This wasn’t my case with Fifty Shades of Grey in particular. People are saying so though, and when I stopped to watch the TV the women were saying too they could not put it down, that’s why it sparked my curiosity on top of needing something to read. Well, so Fifty Shades Of Grey is not one of them, but I still would recommend it (for open minded people, of course, as the sexual reference might not be for everyone’s taste).

Some readers say the book is “unputdownable”. However, I would not push it that far. You can read a more detailed review here

The Night Lives On by Walteer Lord the author of A Night To Remember is an interesting update of the Titanic disaster. While not as ground-breaking as his first book on the subject it is an interesting exploration of some of the unanswered questions still remaining.

Currently reading Knockemstiff by Donald Ray Pollock. I got turned onto this author because of his inspiring backstory...

Donald Ray Pollock grew up in Knockemstiff, Ohio, and quit high school at seventeeen to work in a meatpacking plant. He then spent thirty-two years employed as a laborer at the Mead Paper Corporation in Chillicothe, Ohio, before enrolling in the MFA program at Ohio State University - Amazon

...and because of the comparisons he was drawing to Cormac McCarthy, one of my favorite authors.

Currently reading Knockemstiff by Donald Ray Pollock. I got turned onto this author because of his inspiring backstory...

His novel Devil All the Time is also excellent. Another author in the same vein is Tom Franklin. I've read four of his books. They're all quite different but the voice is the same. Lots of empathy with characters most of us would cross the street to avoid.

Recent good reads:

Dark Places by Gillian Flynn. The main character is Libby Day. Libby's mother and two sisters were murdered when Libby was seven. Libby's teenage brother was convicted of the crime, largely due to Libby's testimony. When a man from a 'Kill Club' (amateurs obsessing about famous crimes and who think the brother didn't do it) approaches her and offers money to meet with the club, Libby goes along. The novel is interesting for its look at the aftermath -- Libby is quite damaged -- but the unraveling of the crime is good too.

The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce. A 65-year-old man sets off on a 500-mile walk across England to visit a dying woman he hasn't seen for 20 years.

Triburbia by Karl Taro Greenfield -- no plot to speak of, but an interesting look at a segment of New Yorkers -- character studies. There was no one to like but it was fascinating anyway.

March Violets and Pale Criminal by Philip Kerr, the first two novels in his Berlin Noir trilogy, set in Berlin in the days before WWII and featuring Bernie Gunther, a former policeman, now a private investigator.

Niceville by Carsten Stroud -- a supernatural/crime mashup that starts when a little boy disappears from a city street. He actually disappears.

The Dog Stars by Peter Heller -- post apocalypse, dark but not as dark as The Road, and with some hope at the end.

Hell or High Water by Joy Castro -- a young woman working on a New Orleans newspaper confronts her past. Lots of local flavor and a flinty but likable main character.

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn -- a man is suspected of murdering his wife. Again, unlikable main characters, but fascinating.

Tell the Wolves I'm Home by Carol Rifka Brunt -- set in the 80's, it's the story of a year in the life of a teenage girl, and her relationship with her uncle, who is dying of AIDS.

The Last Policeman by Ben Winters -- the world is coming to an end (asteroid on its way) and one man still wants to solve crimes. I liked this but am disappointed that it turned out to be the first in a trilogy.

The Absolutist by John Boyne -- brilliant novel about a man with a secret, centered around WWI.

One total dud: Season of the Witch by Arni Thorarinsson. Reporter in a small town in Iceland works on solving crime. Could have been interesting but I've never read worse dialogue.

The Unquiet Bones by Mel Starr -- it's sort of a medieval CSI, featuring a surgeon who helps solve crimes. The main character is Hugh Singleton, a man ahead of his time in many ways, but Starr manages to write him without anachronisms.

Short Nights of the Shadow Catcher: The Epic Life and Immortal Photographs of Edward Curtis by Greg Egan (who won a Pulitzer for The Worst Hard Time). Curtis traveled over have the US, documenting and photographing American Indians, putting together a 20-volume work. It's amazing.

The Revised Fundamentals of Caregiving by Jonathan Evison. A man who feels responsible for the deaths of his two young children becomes caregiver to a teenage boy with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. It could have been one of those "heartwarming" stories that have enough sap to make maple trees jealous. It's gritty and funny and I'm glad I read it.

The Life of Objects by Susanna Moore. A young Irish girl goes to live with a wealthy German family in 1943. I didn't connect with the characters, and as a study of "ordinary" Germans in WWII, City of Women by David Gillham was much better.

Currently reading Very Bad Men by Harry Dolan, second in a crime/thriller series that I like because of the mature relationships and realistic characters.

Black Swan Green by David Mitchell is a series of short linked stories about a boy who lives in an apparently quiet English town where nothing ever happens. It is a very powerful evocation of the hopes, desires, fears, dreams and nightmares of a 13 year old.